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Boston Celtics Gameday HQ

Second-year head coach Jason Kidd will have to
teach an inexperienced Bucks roster how to win.
Ramon Sessions was good at drawing fouls
and getting to the free throw line, but if he’s
your best offensive player, then your team has
a long way to go.
Milwaukee also doesn’t have a low-post
scoring presence. It’s not Henson, who mostly
scores on putbacks and dunks, and doesn’t
shoot with a lot of volume. It’s not Sanders,
who has never been a terrific offensive player
even when healthy. It’s not Ilyasova, who made
just 44.6 percent of his two-point field goal
attempts. The Bucks really don’t have anybody
to fill that void.
The only ingredient Milwaukee really has is
the outside shooting, but that alone is hardly
enough to make for an effective NBA offense.
Khris Middleton and Mayo were both good
Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images
from long range but don’t have superior
options to take defensive heat off them, or
a point guard good enough to reliably create
open shots for them.
This is where Parker comes in. Milwaukee
hopes Parker can eventually give them
everything they’re missing as a team—the
low-post scoring, the superstar presence,
and the player who can command doubleteams.
While Parker was a prolific scorer at
Duke, he was also a volume shooter who was
sometimes inefficient. Parker will need to
improve his efficiency if he wants to develop
into a true superstar at the NBA level.
In the meantime, there won’t be much else to
cheer about with Milwaukee’s offense. Parker
will be exciting and Antetokounmpo will
show occasional highlight reel
moments, but Parker is a rookie
and Antetokounmpo is still
very rough around the edges.
Milwaukee figures to have an
offense that struggles to find its
rhythm throughout the season.
Outlook
The best-case scenario in
Milwaukee involves a team
where Parker immediately
embraces a role as the focal
point of the team’s offense,
Antetokounmpo breaks out
into a talented two-way
player, Sanders returns to the
shotblocking force he was two
seasons ago and Kidd grows
quickly into his new role as the
head coach of the Bucks.
None of those things is
particularly likely. Parker and
Antetokounmpo are still works
in progress. Sanders now has
the injury-prone label to go along with the
reputation of having a short temper. Kidd
is inexperienced and will be challenged in
working with an equally green roster that
hasn’t really found its identity. Milwaukee has
no true intention of competing for a playoff
spot this year. The reality is that Milwaukee
will likely finish with one of the league’s worst
records and end up looking to score a high
pick in the draft lottery.
SPOTLIGHT:
Jabari Parker
Even before Parker stepped onto the court for the Duke Blue Devils, he was getting hyped up as a potential top overall draft pick. Parker
was one of the players considered to be a main part of an extremely talented draft class, along with Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle.
At Duke, Parker didn’t disappoint, scoring at a rate of 25 points per 40 minutes and flashing an inside-outside game with three point shots and
low-post moves alike. While Parker’s defensive play and weight have both been concerns, the promise shown by his offensive game was more
than enough for Milwaukee to select Parker with the second overall pick in the draft—and for pundits to hail the selection as a smart, safe pick.
Parker will have to find his identity in the NBA. Is he a small forward or is he a stretch four? Can Parker play defense well enough to avoid
being taken advantage of down low? Will Parker stay in shape and stay motivated on a losing Milwaukee team?
The good news for Parker is that there’s no pressure on him right away. The Bucks are widely expected to be a lousy team and Milwaukee
might be the NBA city with the least media scrutiny focused on it. In the long term, however, the hope is that Parker can be a superstar the
Bucks can build around. With that in mind, it’s important for Parker to get his career started off on the right foot and show fans that he is
indeed capable of becoming a franchise player.